MANILA, Philippines – Inez S. Reyes, 50, was a corporate marketing executive at Jollibee Foods Corp., Coca-Cola Export Corp. and Ginebra San Miguel before retiring to run a food chain business with her husband. A mother, she studied economics at UP Diliman and took culinary courses at Culinary Institute of America in NYC, among others.
My discovery of the sublime enjoyment of food came late in my life — upon marriage, in fact, to a man who was born to a culinary heritage. In his family gatherings, there would be endless discussions of the best way to prepare this dish or that dish, where to source the best type of this ingredient or that, debates on how their Lola would cook the old family recipes. At first I found it amusing. Later, as I moved up the corporate ladder and was benefited with a representation allowance that allowed me to try all of the latest restaurants, I slowly discovered that, indeed, food could be marvelously cooked, and as such, could be an experience like no other.
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